UNITED STATES: Southeast Florida was flooded by torrential downpours on Thursday, increasing the region around Fort Lauderdale’s cumulative rainfall in recent days to more than two feet. The National Meteorological Service (NWS) claimed that nearly 25 inches of rain fell in Fort Lauderdale, making it a 1 in 1,000-year occurrence.
A meteorologist at the Miami NWS described the volume of rain as “astronomical”, and 2 million residents in Broward County were under a flood warning. 20 inches of rain have already fallen along portions of Florida’s Atlantic Coast north of Miami, but there have been no documented incidents of injuries or fatalities.
Social media videos showed individuals swimming through flood waters as sheets of rain pelted the area, and flood waters rose to the tops of cars. In one video, a person is seen swimming in water that has inundated a road.
Citizens referred to the storm system bringing rain to the area as “parked for hours” and said that emergency management personnel responded to rescue calls throughout the previous night. The city of Fort Lauderdale said that emergency management personnel responded to rescue calls throughout the previous night, saying that the region was experiencing flooding.
The increasing occurrence and severity of these storms, accompanied by extended droughts, are indicators of human-caused climate change.
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport’s runways were flooded, and it was expected to be shut down until Thursday noon. Close to 400 flights were cancelled, according to FlightAware.
The Fort Lauderdale airport was closed early Wednesday evening due to debris and water on the runways. It was later declared that it would not reopen until Friday morning at 5 a.m. Traffic congestion lasted for hours due to the closures, water, and terrible weather.
Trantalis gave a sombre overview of the storm’s effects, noting that the emergency services had already fielded 900 calls for assistance. He claimed that many people were unable to exit their front doors and that water was leaking into their living rooms.
Governor Ron DeSantis has not yet called, but state agencies have offered assistance, including evacuation airboats. Trantalis asked if he had spoken with the governor, and he replied that he is sure he is interested in what was going on.
The extra precipitation expected for Thursday was not expected to be as intense, but it would still fall on already saturated land, increasing the likelihood of additional localised floods. Until Thursday night, other areas of South Florida were on a flood watch, indicating a lower level of risk. Fort Lauderdale city facilities won’t reopen until Friday.
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